Trista Sutter Details ‘Heart-Wrenching & Difficult’ Family Challenges

Heavy/Getty "The Bachelorette" Trista Sutter's family is dealing with difficulties.

“The Bachelorette” star Trista Sutter has opened up about some difficult times her family is working through right now.

Sutter was the first-ever lead for “The Bachelorette,” and she was the first in the franchise to marry her final rose recipient. As People noted, the couple’s wedding took place in December 2003, and they have two children. As amazing as Sutter’s life has been since finding love via reality television, she recently acknowledged things have been quite a bit more rocky lately.

Here’s what you need to know:

Ryan & Trista Sutter’s Dog Is Quite Sick

On October 16, Ryan Sutter shared a photo on Instagram showing him driving a car with the family’s dog in the back seat. “It’s no fun when you’re (sic) best friend is sick,” “The Bachelorette” star wrote in the caption.

Trista shared her husband’s photo via her Instagram Stories and added an explanation. “Our Sophie Bear hasn’t been feeling well. Thought it was anxiety over the move and all the back and forth at first but worried it’s more,” she detailed.

“The Bachelorette” star added, “Praying for answers and getting our happy-go-lucky-puppy back.”

On October 18, Trista shared new updates in her Instagram Stories. “It’s been a rough couple days,” her lengthy note began.

“The Bachelorette” star explained, “Packing up the house we’ve called a home for 20 years. Challenging school days for the kids. Everyone missing friends and mountain life. And most heart-wrenching and difficult…an unexpected surgery and diagnosis for our fur-baby, Sophie.”

‘The Bachelorette’ Star Asked Fans Not to Judge Right now

Trista detailed she was “trying to not burden the kids with sadness,” and as a result, she had not let herself work through her feelings and stress. “And now it’s almost like I don’t know how to express the fear and let the tears roll,” she admitted.

“The Bachelorette” star admitted she’s “off” these days. She asked, “Please don’t judge” if she posts about light-hearted or random things on social media for now. “My brain needs an escape,” she explained.

“I can’t imagine life without Sophie Bear. Just hoping I don’t have to for years and years to come,” Trista added.

Ryan shared a photo and update on the family’s dog on his Instagram page on October 17. He posted a black-and-white selfie and he looked quite emotional. In his caption, Ryan explained, “Sophie, our family dog, had just come out of surgery to remove her spleen and a large mass surrounding it.”

Sadly, Ryan added, “The mass turned out to be cancer and there is fear it may have spread to her liver.” Sophie is back home with her family, but it sounds as if her prognosis is somewhat unknown at this stage.

The Sutter Family Has a Lot on Their Plates Right Now

The move “The Bachelorette” star referred to has been stressful for the whole family, based on previous updates Trista has shared. In August, she provided some insight in an Instagram post.

The photos highlighted the couple’s children, Blakesley and Maxwell. “They are why I do what I do. They are why we live where we now live (although not the sole reason),” she noted.

“The Bachelorette” star added emoji signaling the family has been orchestrating a move from the mountains to the city.

“Even with the stress of trying to sell and buy a home in the middle of what seems like an impossible real estate market and the unknown of whether we’ll all fit in or he’ll make the team or she’ll like the studio or we’ll all make new friends or everyone will like the city life or or or…I will always be willing to open my eyes wide to potential opportunity for them and for our family.”

“The Bachelorette” star admitted they all missed the friends they had in Vail Valley, Colorado, along with the feel of living in a “small mountain town community.” The family has been in the process of moving to Denver, and Trista noted she had “faith that we are where we are meant to be.”